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Jazzy Jay | |
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 Jazzy Jay performing at NAMM in 2009 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | John Byas |
| Also known as |
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| Born | (1961-11-18)November 18, 1961 (age 63) Beaufort, South Carolina, U.S. |
| Origin | The Bronx,New York City, U.S. |
| Genres | Hip hop |
| Occupations | |
| Labels | Strong City |
John Byas (born November 18, 1961), also known asThe Original Jazzy Jay orDJ Jazzy Jay, is an Americanhip hopDJ and producer.
Jazzy Jay was born into aGullah family in coastal South Carolina. He moved with his family toNew York City at a young age and took up thedrums, his first instrument. His first drum was a Roland drum machine[1] He began his career in hip hop in the 1970s inThe Bronx,New York, the epicenter of hip hop culture during the first decade of its development, at the age of 13. An early member ofAfrika Bambaataa'sUniversal Zulu Nation, he was a protégé of Bambaataa as well as his older cousin,Kool DJ Red Alert. Beginning as a Zulu King dancer in the early 1970s, Jay later became a Universal Zulu Nation DJ and was a member of the Zulu groupJazzy Five, with which he recorded the single "Jazzy Sensation."
Although Jazzy Jay began performing primarily at street parties, in the 1980s he began DJing in New York clubs such as Negril, the Roxy, the Ritz, andDanceteria. He also hosted a hip hop radio program onWRKS 98.7 Kiss FM and in 1984 he played himself asThe Roxy's DJ in the influential hip hop filmBeat Street.
Jazzy Jay andAfrika Islam performed some of the first DJ team routines and teamed up to battle bothGrandmaster Flash (solo) andGrand Wizard Theodore (solo).
Around 1984, Jay metRick Rubin and assisted him in laying the foundation for what would becomeDef Jam Recordings. The label's first official single was the single "It's Yours" byT La Rock and Jazzy Jay. Jay later introduced Rubin toRussell Simmons, creating one of the most important partnerships in hip hop production. Jazzy Jay also put out Def Jam's third 12" in 1985, entitled "Def Jam" b/w "Cold Chillin' In The Spot", which featured Russell Simmons on vocals. In 1986, he participated in the recordingPlanet Rock - The Album, which was certifiedgold.
Also a producer, Jay founded Jazzy Jay's Studio in the Bronx, where he produced early recordings byDiamond D,Fat Joe,Brand Nubian,A Tribe Called Quest, and others. He also began his own label, Strong City Records, through a partnership with Rocky Bucano.
More recently, Jazzy Jay was featured in the 2001turntablism documentaryScratch. In the film, he displays his extensiveLP collection (kept in the basement of his home), which he claims comprises at least 300,000 to 400,000 records.
In 2000, Jazzy Jay was inducted into the Technics/DMC DJ Hall of Fame. He sometimes performs together with another hip hop pioneer,Grand Wizard Theodore. He is also interviewed extensively in the 2003 hip hop documentary5 Sides of a Coin.He was featured in the 2004 song "Rock And Roll (Could Never Hip Hop Like This) Part 2" byHandsome Boy Modeling School giving a background on himself and on rap as an art form.
Jazzy Jay narrated a walking tour ofThe Bronx, "Hip Hop," by Soundwalk,[2] that won the 2004Audie award for Best Original Work.[3]
He and his wife have three children (Jazmine, Matthew, and Kenya), and live inBedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn,New York.[4] Matthew Byas is a member of Brooklyn musical groupPhony Ppl.[4] In 2011, Jazmine graduated from the prestigiousEastman School of Music, and is pursuing a career as a classicaloboist.[5] In 2014, she married Danny Lambert, ofBray, County Wicklow, Ireland.[6]
In 2012, Jazzy Jay confirmed he was working on a collaborative album with DJ Phix. He was quoted speaking on the album saying "I'm just tryin' to get back to my roots, DJ Phix is the DJ who's gon help bring me back." The album will be released in late 2013.
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